Several well-known Texas schools have made it onto the list of a number of recent college rankings of the nation's — and world's — best universities.

The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Rice University made the list of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) Top 100 universities in the world. UT Austin was ranked No. 26 on the list, Texas A&M ranked No. 80 and Rice was No. 94. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas also made the list, at No. 46.

Located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Center for World University Rankings bases its numbers on a series of criteria that includes publications by faculty, influence, citations of faculty research and the employment of graduates.

In a statement, UT Austin President Bill Powers credited the faculty as the prime reason for the university's high rankings. “This illustrates how important attracting and retaining top faculty is beyond the primary benefit of having great teachers and researchers. Faculty quality drives rankings, rankings build reputation, and a rising reputation attracts students, professors and staff of an ever higher quality,” he said.

The three popular Texas schools can also be found in the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges as “Best Buys in Higher Education." They were joined by Trinity University on the list of 51 schools in the nation that are noted for quality academic offerings along with affordable costs.

The 2013 Times Higher Education Ranking also listed University of Texas at Austin, Rice University and Texas A&M among the top 200 universities in the world. On this list, UT ranked No. 25, Rice No. 75 and A&M No. 156.

US News and World Report has Rice (No. 17), UT (No. 46) and A&M (No. 65) in the top 100 of its National University Rankings. Other Texas schools on this list are Southern Methodist University (No. 58), Baylor University (No. 77) and Texas Christian University (No. 92.)